Yahoo Finance Individual investors own 27% of Scientex Berhad (KLSE:SCIENTX) shares but private companies control 48% of the company
Key Insights
The considerable ownership by private companies in Scientex Berhad indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
52% of the business is held by the top 5 shareholders
A look at the shareholders of Scientex Berhad (KLSE:SCIENTX) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 48% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
Individual investors, on the other hand, account for 27% of the company's stockholders.
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Scientex Berhad.
Check out our latest analysis for Scientex Berhad
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Scientex Berhad?
Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Scientex Berhad. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Scientex Berhad's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
Hedge funds don't have many shares in Scientex Berhad. Our data shows that Scientex Holdings Sdn Bhd is the largest shareholder with 21% of shares outstanding. Scientex Infinity Sdn Bhd is the second largest shareholder owning 11% of common stock, and Scientex Leasing Sdn Bhd holds about 9.1% of the company stock. Additionally, the company's CEO Peng Jin Lim directly holds 3.6% of the total shares outstanding.
On looking further, we found that 52% of the shares are owned by the top 5 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company.
While it makes sense to study institutional ownership data for a company, it also makes sense to study analyst sentiments to know which way the wind is blowing. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.
Insider Ownership Of Scientex Berhad
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.
Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Scientex Berhad. It has a market capitalization of just RM6.7b, and insiders have RM865m worth of shares in their own names. That's quite significant. It is good to see this level of investment. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently.
General Public Ownership
With a 27% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Scientex Berhad. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.
Private Company Ownership
Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 48%, of the company's shares. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.
Next Steps:
It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Scientex Berhad better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Scientex Berhad that you should be aware of before investing here.
If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
